There have been numerous rumors about the next GLORY event here in the United States, including possibly being in a city in California that doesn’t really lend itself to many sports arenas in the area. The first thing that I thought of was that maybe we’d see a GLORY event at an Indian casino, which is something that we still see for a lot of combat sports events. TaKe-On Productions in New York has built up a decent relationship with a local casino which seems to suit them well right now, and Muay Thai events in California and Las Vegas have long-been associated with casinos.

Most non-UFC MMA events tend to take place at casinos, as well, due to them housing smaller venues than traditional sports arenas, making it easier for a promoter to not lose a lot of money by booking an arena and only being able to fill it beyond half capacity, including free tickets. Even the UFC was taking place in casinos for quite a while, which was in part due to problems with State Athletic Commissions not recognizing the sport or refusing to regulate it.

There should be no shame seen in booking an event in a casino, as for someone like GLORY they might not want to just jump into booking larger arenas right away. Right now seems like a good time to consider it, as online poker went from being illegal to each state having their own unique laws regarding it. The popularity of stuff like WSoP, both online and offline, has made casinos come out of the smokey grey area that they resided in before and into being viewed as just another part of American culture again.

While we still don’t know exactly where GLORY is planning to organize their next event within the United States yet, the bump on Spike TV should absolutely help them to gain more attention, but they shouldn’t rush into a larger arena just assuming that they will be able to fill it up, as a half empty arena, no matter what camera tricks are done, can show through on live TV sometimes.